The right to privacy is one of the foundations upon which our libraries are built. Privacy is one of the key reasons libraries are such a trusted part of every community. In a world that thrives on surveillance and data mining, libraries provide a safe place for users of all ages to seek out information free from unreasonable intrusion into or surveillance of their use. As libraries across the world have shut their doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we face the challenge of upholding our commitment to not monitor, track, or profile an individual’s library use beyond our operational needs.
Author: Erin Berman
Erin Berman is the Chair of the American Library Association’s Intellectual Freedom Committee’s Privacy Subcommittee. She currently works as a Division Director for Alameda County Library.
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Big Brother is Watching You: The ethical role of libraries and big data
“Now is the time for us to tout the virtues of the library as a privacy haven to our patrons. We are not Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Google; and we should never strive to be. Our patrons are not our products. That is a huge difference between public institutions like libraries and private industries like social networks and tech conglomerates who derive their earnings from advertising.”